Kannabiji Temple 11 on the Iwami Kannon pilgrimage

 

Kannabiji is one of the oldest temples in the area I live. It was founded in 746 and it is said that Kobo Daishi later visited and converted it to Shingon.

It was located halfway up a mountain and was supported by the Ogasawara Clan who operated from the nearby Maruyama Castle. In 1872 the area suffered a big earthquake known as the Hamada Earthquake and it caused the spring at the temple to dry up, so the temple was forced to relocate to its current location.

When I visited in early May the azaleas and botanzakura were in full bloom. In the grounds is a very large weeping cherry and by the gate a huge gingko. These last two may have been in the old temple that stood here before Kannabiji was moved here.

I was visiting on day 6 of my walk along the Iwami Kannon pilgrimage, with Kannabiji being number 11. It is also temple 22 on the recently rediscovered Iwami Ginzan Kannon pilgrimage.

The honzon is a Kokuzo Boddhisattva, not a very well-known bodhisattva, but the one that was instrumental in the training of Kobo Daishi..

The Nio are quite cool, and by the side of the main building are a set of rakan statues, (last photo). I cant remember seeing the Kannon statue.

The priest lives nearby in a modern house, but a huge, traditional house sits to the left of the main hall.

The main altar bis quite colourful, with some excellent dragon paintings.

The storehouse is actually a small museum whose prize possession is the remains of a set of samurai armour that dates back to the Heian period and is believed to be the second or third oldest samurai armour in Japan. It is not much to look at but at the art museum in Sakurae Town is a full replica.

On this leg of my walk I walked the route "backwards" from my house upriver. The previous post was on the Zen temple in my village, Hikasaji.

Taisanji Temple 52 on the Shikoku pilgrimage

 

The main hall of Taisan-ji Temple, built in 1305, in the mountains to the northwest of Matsuyama City is a National Treasure and is truly one of the most elegant of the buildings on the pilgrimage.

Number 52 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, it claims to be one of the oldest temples on the pilgrimage.

According to the legend, Mano Choja, a wealthy man from Bungo in Kyushu was heading to Osaka on business in 587. Caught in a storm, his ship was in danger of sinking but was saved by a light shining from the spot where the temple now stands.

Guided to land safely, he climbed the mountain and discovered a miniature statue of Kannon.

He came back with a team of craftsmen from Bungo and according to the legend raised the main hall in one night. Later Gyoki visited and carved a Kannon statue and placed the original statue discovered by Choja inside it. In 739 Gyoki built the temple in the form it is now.

It is said that Shotoku Taishi visited here and there is a statue of him in the octagonal Shtokutaishi Hall.

Later, Kobo Daishi visited and converted the temple to Shingon. The Nio gate also dates back to the temple rebuilding of 1305. In the next post, I will show some of the statues and paintings found here.

The previous post in this series on the Shikoku Ohenro was on temple 51, Ishiteji Temple.

Jimyoin Betsuin Temple

 

The Sasaguri Pilgrimage is a miniature version of the Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage known as Ohenro. All the temples on the Sasaguri Pilgrimage are within the limits of Sasaguri, a town in the mountains east of Hakata, Fukuoka, and the whole route covers about 50 kilometers, yet the walking pilgrim passes by numerous other temples that are not part of the pilgrimage.

Jimyoin Betsuin Temple is one such temple, located along a mountain road to the north of Narufuchi Dam. We visited on our way down the mountain late in the afternoon of the 1st day walking the pilgrimage after having already visited more than twenty temples.

A Betsuin is a direct branch temple, and this one seems to be a branch of a Jimyoin Temple near Nanzoin further east. It is unstaffed and there was little information though it does appear to be relatively new.

What is known is that the temple belongs to the Shingon sect and has a Daishi-do, Yakushi-do, and across the road a Kannon-do.

The main hall enshrines the honzon, a Fudo Myo, and I will cover it and the many other Fudo statues in the grounds in the next post.

Photo 3 shows, I believe, an Aizen Myo, and the statues in photo 4 very much look in what seems to be Korean-style.

Photo 5 is probably Bishamonten, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and the one most likely found alone without the other three. I'm not sure of the dragon in photo 6, but it looks a lot like Kurikara, the dragon representing the sword of Fudo Myo, except it is usually shown wrapped around a sword.

Photo 7 is the Shichifukujin, the Seven Lucky Gods. Have no idea what photo 8 is although its meaning seems somewhat obvious. Photo 9 is the Nio guardians from the rear looking across the road to the Yakushi-do.

The previous post in this series on the Sasaguri Pilgrimage was on the small  Hagio Amida-do we visited a little higher up the mountain road.

Seisuiji Temple 7 Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage

 

Seisuiji Temple is a small place up in the middle of what used to be the silver mine in the World Heritage Iwami Ginzan sites.

It is number 7 on the Iwami Mandala Kannon Pilgrimage route, but used to be number 1,  the starting point of the original Edo Period Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage.

It was located high up on the mountain and was probably the most important temple for the mine back in the late 15th, and early 16th centuries.

It was moved to its current location at the base of the mountain in 1878. The gate was moved here in 1931 from a defunct temple that administered the main shrine of the mine. 

The honzon is an eleven-headed Kannon, and the main gate houses a wonderful pair of guardian statues, a Fudo Myo and a Bishamonten. Seisuiji is a Shingon temple.

During the heyday of the mine, the temple received many donations and much support from merchants, samurai, daimyo, and even the Shogun.

This visit was on the 4th day of my walk along the Iwami Pilgrimage, and the previous post was of my walk up through the preservation district of Omori, the town that serviced the mine.

Joruriji Temple 46 Shikoku pilgrimage

 

Joruriji is located on the southern edge of Matsuyama City, and is the first of 8 temples around Matsuyama that are on the Shikoku pilgrimage.

The previous two temples, Iwayaji, and Daihoji, are both high in the mountains so it is quite a contrast to drop down into flatter terrain. Matsuyama is also the largest city along the route since Kochi.

According to the legend the temple was founded by the famous monk Gyoki which would make it the early 8th century. I believe a total of 37 of the 88 temples claim Gyoki as their founder.

As with the others, it is said Kukai came to the site about a century later and rebuilt or re-established the temple.

There are several smaller shrines, including this one to Benten.

I visited in the first week of January so the new year offerings were still on the altars.

The grounds are wooded and gardened, with a trio of thousand-year-old Juniper trees being noteworthy.

Myooin Temple 2 Shikoku Fudo Myo Pilgrimage

Japan Travel

Myooin is the second temple on the Shikoku 36 temple Fudo Myo pilgrimage and I reached it at the end of my second day of walking.

The first temple had been Taisanji, and for these first 2 days I had been following almost the same route as the famous 88 temple pilgrimage, however after visiting Horinji my route carried on up the Yoshino River and several kind people stopped their cars and told me I was going the wrong way..... which of course i was not.

Myoonji is not a particularly impressive temple though it is said to have been founded in the mid 9th century. Later it was patronized by the Hosokawa clan and prospered. In the great Yoshino River flood of 1544 the temple was completely destroyed and its statues were found downstream.

It was rebuilt in 1618 and was responsible for a dozen sub-temples in the area. It is said the daimyo would sometimes stay here on hunting trips. The honzon is known as Nezumi Fudo, "mouse fudo" as the amulet is said to keep mice from damaging crops. The main hall was rebuilt in 1989 at the founding of the Shikoku Fudo pilgrimage.

One of 6he reasons behind the number 36 associated with Fudo is that he is said to have 36 doji, young children who served as his attendant and acolytes. With the founding of the pilgrimage each temple received a statue of a different doji.

This is the one at Myoonji,  Seitaka Doji, which is one of the pair of doji that are commonly seen in a triad with Fudo.

I visited in mid-December, and the fallen leaves on the bushes were striking....